w19341
| Title | John Paul Jones : A Musical Play in 2 Acts (Concert Version) |
| Contributors |
Julian Wagstaff (composer) Joel Jenkins (author) |
| Composition date | 2010 |
| Duration (mins) | 100 |
| Category | opera theatre |
| Instrumentation | 9 Soloists / SATB / Orch |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | 24 09 2010 Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Consort of Voices and guests. Queen's Hall, Edinburgh |
| Notes | Concert version based on original musical (2000), revised by Julian Wagstaff and Joel Jenkins, 2010. The piano-vocal score and orchestration supercedes that of the original 2000/2001 version of John Paul Jones. |
| Programme Note | John Paul Jones – Concert Version Plot Synopsis : Act I Scene 1 1776, during the American War of Independence. Below decks on the HMS Jersey, a notorious prison ship run by the British and anchored off New York, starved and humiliated prisoners sing of their anguish and despair [HELL AFLOAT]. One prisoner, believed dead, is thrown overboard by his captors. We discover that the death was feigned, and the man is rescued from the sea by a passing American vessel captained by John Paul Jones, a Scots-born sailor who has taken America’s cause. Jones is appalled by the cruelty suffered by the former prisoner, and vows never to rest until America is free. Scene 2 1792, Dumfries, Scotland (sixteen years later). In the Globe Inn, Janet Taylor has news that her brother John Paul Jones, the sailor and hero of the American Revolution, plans to visit Scotland after a long absence. The poet Robert Burns, a fellow revolutionary, is delighted, and celebrates the news by entertaining the locals with a song [SONG OF THE LAND]. Scene 3 1777, Paris, France. John Paul Jones meets with Benjamin Franklin, the American ambassador. Franklin informs Jones that he is to be provided with a new ship with which to distress America’s enemies. Jones professes his gratitude and reaffirms his unqualified devotion to America’s cause of freedom [SWORD IN HAND]. Scene 4 1778, Whitehaven, England. In a tavern, the locals make merry with tales of the sea [THE DRUNKARD], but the merrymaking is shattered when Jones and his men arrive. Jones declares that the ships in the harbour are to burn in retribution for the British bombardment of American towns. Scenes 5 & 6 1792, Dumfries. The Globe Inn (as we left it). A local loudmouth named Jack McClue condemns Jones’s “barbaric” raid on Whitehaven, while Burns defends his revolutionary courage and humanity. We learn that following the Whitehaven raid, Jones landed at St. Mary’s Isle in Scotland, attempting to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk in an attempt to force a prisoner exchange between Britain and America. However, the Earl was absent at the time and escaped capture. In song, we hear Jones’s written apology to Lady Selkirk and her response, his notice of promotion to the rank of Commodore by Benjamin Franklin, and Janet’s lament for the loss of a dear brother to a foreign land [QUARTET]. Scenes 7, 8 and 9 1779. Jones is granted a new, faster ship, the Bonhomme Richard, with which he hopes to achieve greater victories against Britain and the Royal Navy. He engages the far superior British ship, the Serapis, off the English coast at Flamborough Head. Against all odds, and with many casualties on both sides, Jones gains a famous victory in America's bid for independence [THE BATTLE OF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD]. Scene 10 1780, The Palace of Versailles, outside Paris. Jones is knighted a Chevalier by King Louis XVI. He cuts a dashing figure and is in great demand as a dancing partner [MEN OF WEALTH AND PRIVILEGE]. He is soon aware that one particular lady is watching him. It is Countess Nicolson, also known as Delia [ALMOST YOU]. Jones finds himself torn between the pomp of the royal court and the shouts of a crowd of common people gathering outside. Surveying the crowds he delivers an affirmation of his ideals of liberty [FREEDOM ARISE!]. However, his words seem somehow hollow and he finally retreats into the arms of the Countess as Act I ends. Act II Scenes 1, 2 and 3 1780, Jones’s apartment, Paris. Jones insists to Franklin that his latest orders to man a supply ship are an insult to his fighting abilities, but threatened with a court martial he acquiesces. Meanwhile, in the Globe Inn of 1792, Janet defends her brother’s integrity and honour against McClue’s lewd insinuations [NO BROTHER’S LOVE]. In Paris, Nicolson pleads with Jones to abandon the sea and settle down with her. If Jones will not stay in France then she will return with him to the USA. Jones consents. Scene 4 1780, the port of Lorient, France. An extravagant party is in progress aboard the Ariel [SAILORS' FAREWELL]. At the party's height, Countess Nicolson presents herself at the gangway demanding passage. Suddenly unwilling to subject the Countess to a life at sea, Jones hands his ceremonial sword to Lieutenant Dale while Nicolson is left on the quayside to ponder what might have been [SONG TO ME]. Scene 5 1781, New Year in America. Lt. Dale announces his engagement and his retirement from naval service. Asked if he will not consider a similar course, Jones replies that as a sailor he must seek the highest rank attainable: that of Rear Admiral. Before the Congress Naval Committee, Jones gives a submission in support of his appointment to the post of Rear Admiral. However, jealousy on the part of other naval officers prevents his appointment and he vents his anger in a torrent of frustrated hope [SWORD IN HAND (REPRISE)] Scene 6 1792, The Globe Inn, as before. Janet and Burns praise their own ideas of love: of home and freedom respectively, while Jones – separated from them in time and space – sings of his own love of glory [HEARTLAND]. Scene 7 1784, Jones’s apartment in Paris. Britain, France and America are at peace and Jones is at a loose end. Franklin advises him to return to America and enjoy the fruits of peace. Jones retorts that this is the easy option and not for him. Meanwhile the Countess is still in love with him despite his erratic attentions [PEACE IS OURS]. Scenes 8, 9 and 10 1788. France, Russia. In pursuit of Admiral’s rank, Jones accepts a commission in Catherine the Great's Russian navy. We see his part in a bloody and brutal war, in which prisoners of war are burned alive. His reputation ruined by sexual scandal and his health irreparably damaged by the Russian cold, he returns to Paris a sick and frail man. [TROIKA]. Scene 11 1790, Paris. Jones’s apartment. Despite failing health, Jones refuses to give up his dream of commanding an entire fleet. The Countess, forced to flee France for Scotland by the French Revolution, begs Jones to join her. He promises to do so when his dream has been achieved. Scene 12 1792, Dumfries, Scotland. A message arrives for Janet in the Globe Inn – it is news of her brother's death. She is distraught. Burns remarks solemnly that, despite his faults, it is ultimately by his role in history that Jones will be judged, and by his heroic part in a struggle for freedom. The townsfolk sing the praises of the gardener's son who became America's greatest seaman. [FREEDOM ARISE! (REPRISE)]. |
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